Spring-actuated repeating toy gun



July 30, 1968 R- w. LECLERC ACTUATED REPEATING TOY GUN Filed Oct. 5, 1965 SPRING INVENTOR RAYMOND W. LECLERC ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,394,694 SPRING-ACTUATED REPEATING TOY GUN Raymond W. Leclerc, Ray Plastic Co., Mill Circle Road, Winchendon Springs, Mass. 01477 Filed Oct. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 493,185 4 Claims. (Cl. 124-27) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy gun for rapidly projecting small pellets or the like by means of a spring including a retractible trigger having projectile receiving means from a magazine, the projectile being deposited on the receiving means one at a time by gravity, there being a pellet striker with a striker spring, wherein the projectile receiving means on the trigger engages the striker compressing the spring as the trigger is moved to the rear, and means for moving the trigger at a predetermined point and in a predetermined direction to clear the projectile receiving means thereon with respect to the barrel and providing for the striker spring to be released to move the striker to project the projectile through the barrel.

This invention relates to a toy gun, and the principal object of the invention resides in the improvement of the action of toy pellet guns of the type which are arranged to eject a pellet by means of a spring at each trigger pull without the necessity of the operator providing for a resetting of the parts. This is done by providing a trigger which has a combined sliding and pivot-a1 action in combination with a pellet hopper, and the principal object of the invention resides in the improvement in guides, trigger spring, etc. for the trigger to provide the correct motion therefor.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation showing the working parts of the gun, a portion of the casing of the gun having been removed in order to show the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the same parts in partly retracted position of the trigger;

FIG. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of FIG. 1, and

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the trigger in its rearwardmost position to release a projectile and in position for starting the reverse travel.

The toy gun of the present invention is easily made of plastic except for the spring to be described. The gun comprises a pair of complementary plastic injection molded housing members only one of which is shown inasmuch as the other is complementary thereto. In the part shown there is a simulated barrel portion which forms no part of the present invention and an actual barrel at 12 for projectiles issuing from this barrel under influence of a compression spring 14 which has -a projecting head 16. The gun includes a magazine or hopper in the area at 1-8, pellets being dumped herein in helterskelter relation and the portion at may also be utilized to hold additional pellets. These pellets descend by gravity through an opening or port 22 but as shown in FIG. 1 the spring 14 prevents pellets from issuing into the barrel 12 There are three trigger guiding pins 24, 26, and 28 which are fixed with relation to the housing member. The trigger comprises a projectile receiving portion 30 at the forward end thereof, a member at 32 for the operator to press, and a depending portion at the rear thereof at 34 for the impingement thereon of a generally flat trigger spring 36 which returns the trigger to its original position.

3,394,694 Patented July 30, 1968 ice At its top portion the trigger comprises laterally extending elongated spaced guide members 38 and 40 which overlie the guiding pins. The guides 38 and 40 are separated by a recess 42. There is a laterally extending undercut pin on the trigger at 44 which engages underneath the guide 45 to hold the trigger assembled to the housing.

As the trigger is moved to the rear, it has a tendency to also move counterclockwise, but its rectilinear motion is maintained against the action of spring 36 and also against the action of spring 14 by underlying pins 24 and 26, until such time as the forward portion of end of guide 38 rides off pin 24, at which time the trigger is free to be pivoted downwardly, i.e., counterclockwise to the FIG. 4 position. The pocket at 30 'has a reaction member against which the head 16 of spring 14 impinges, and therefore the spring 14 is released, but not spring 36. The spring 14 projects the now released projectile through the barrel 12, the pocket at 30 having been retracted downwardly out of the way of the barrel 12, see FIG. 4, thus clearing the barrel for the travel of the projectile.

In the FIG. 4 position of the trigger it will be seen that it impinges upon an angularly disposed fixed guide or stop member 48 and this stops the counterclockwise motion of the trigger, and upon being released by the finger of the operator, the trigger member is moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 as guided by the guide 48, thus moving angularly down and forwardly. Guide 38 helps to maintain the action as it is now under the pin 26, until such time as the recess at 42 reaches pin 24 and allows the trigger to pivot upwardly in a clockwise direction back to the position as shown in FIG, 1 wherein the recess at 42 is approximately opposite pin 24. Now, spring 36 tends to hold the trigger member in this position, aided by pin 26. Thus the projectiles will be ejected one by one upon the pulling of the trigger. The action is smooth and positive and this is due to the fact that the guides 38 and 40 are used in combination with the guideway 48 rather than the prior art method of having pins running in grooves which are apt to be jammed to a far greater degree than are the guides as used in the present construction.

The spring 36 is free-ended, terminating in a reversed tip portion 50 which receives the convex projection 52 on the trigger and by interfitting in this way the action is made smoother in the projection of the trigger from the FIG. 4 positions through FIG. 3 back to FIG. 1. Also, the trigger has a concave area at 54 which receives a fixed pin 56, and this acts as a very smooth acting fulcrum for the trigger in the aforesaid action.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but 'what I claim is:

1. A toy gun comprising a housing including a barrel through which a projectile may be ejected, a retractible trigger member having a combined rectilinear and tilting action, said trigger member having a pair of aligned foreand-aft elongated guides, there being a space therebe tween, a pair of spaced fore-and-aft pins on the housing, said pins in general contacting said guides during the retraction of the trigger,

a trigger spring, a striker member for striking a projectile and ejecting it through the barrel, and a striker spring for the striker, said trigger member having a portion engaging the striker and compressing the striker spring when moved rectilinearly to the rear against the action of the trigger spring, until a point is reached where the fore guide rides off of the fore pin allowing the trigger member to tilt down about the rear pin and releasing the striker to project a projectile through said barrel,

and a fixed guideway to the rear of the striker and striker spring, said guideway being inclined forwardly and downwardly with relation to the axis of the barrel and receiving the rear trigger guide in generally flatwise contacting relation, positioning said trigger member at an incline with relation to the axis of the barrel, the trigger spring moving said trigger member forwardly with the fore guide under the fore pin, retaining the tilted relation thereof until the space between guides reached the fore pin and the trigger spring moves the said trigger member about the rear pin back up into its original position.

2. The toy gun of claim 1 wherein the trigger member spring is fiat and free-ended, terminating in a concave portion, said trigger member including a convex projection receiving the concave end portion of the spring.

3. The toy gun of claim 1 including a pin adjacent but 4 spaced from the fixed guideway and a concave portion on the trigger member contacting the last-named pin and pivoting on the same in the pivot action of the trigger member.

4. The toy gun of claim 1 including interengaging means on the trigger member and housing holding the trigger member in assembled relation to the housing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,240,987 9/1917 Lefever 124-27 2,814,285 11/1957 Yamauchi 12427 3,274,986 9/1966 Yano 124-41 XR RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

W. R. BROWNE, Assistant Examiner. 

